Perfect Shift
by evenstar1791
Summary: Written w/NT:When Team 7 goes on a mission with a new member and end up in a different dimension, will they be able to get back, or will they be stuck with a bunch of Shinigami and strange events?
1. Exit to Home

**1- Exit to Home**

Okay, I'm writing this alongside Naki-chan, but she's given me permission to edit and post this.

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"Hey, Miki, you're needed in the Boss' room." The familiar voice alerted Miki to an unwanted presence in her rooms. She stood from her desk and whirled on him, flaming red spikes flaring out as she whipped her head to glare at Itachi.

"The hell does he need me for?" She yelled, pissed off just by the older man's presence.

"You done playing Messenger, Itachi? Hey Miki." Kisame said, poking his head into the room behind Itachi. The second uninvited guest had the red-haired girl beyond pissed off now. And when she was beyond pissed, sarcasm was the best cure for her violent urges until she could get hold of a regenerating punching bag—namely Hidan or Kakuzu.

"What are you worried about? You two secret lovers now or something?" Miki spat out the question as she shoved her way through the door, knocking the two guys together. Her rude question had Itachi sputtering.

"Hell no! You, of all people, should know that even I wouldn't stoop to that sort of hobby." Itachi shoved away from Kisame as he yelled at Miki.

"Seriously. Get going or I'll see if I can't get permission to go ahead and take care of you!" Kisame shouted, jabbing a finger at her. She shook her head a little and started to walk off.

"You're seriously a pain in the ass. Both of you are twisted." Miki said, shoving her hands into the pockets of her jacket as she headed down the hall and up a flight of stairs into the tower above the hideout she was occupying. Sometimes it was just too much of a pain in the ass for her to deal with the Akatsuki.

Hell, if it weren't for the fact that Itachi had all but begged for her to be kept alive like some sort of pet, she wouldn't even be there. Damn idiot. He was so obsessed with what had been written on the note left with her when she'd been dumped on his parent's doorstep as a baby. All the note had said was her last name and that she'd been made into the Nanabi Jinchuriki by her dead parents.

He seemed convinced that even if they did the jutsu to remove the Nanabi from her body, she'd survive it and kill them all. Not that she wouldn't mind getting a chance to kill the lot of those bastards while they were still focusing on that arcane jutsu and release all of the Bijuu. It would never happen. If the Bijuu was removed from the host's body, the host would die. If the Jinchuriki died with the beast still sealed in them, the beast would disappear from existence.

She got to the door she needed and knocked once before entering. "Excuse me." Miki said as she stepped into the room, bowing deeply—not out of respect for Pein, but out of habit.

"Miki…you should know better than to delay." Pein growled. Wow, the bastard was pissed just because she'd taken a couple of extra minutes getting there. Some people just couldn't be satisfied.

"Sorry…Sir. Kisame and Itachi were in the way." She responded calmly, waving a hand dismissively. She used that excuse to deter him a lot, but ninety percent of the time, it was the truth. Damn, she couldn't wait to get hold of Hidan and use the masochistic asshole for a punching bag.

"Are you wondering why I called you here?" He smirked and motioned for her to sit down. She eyed the seat warily and shook her head a little.

"I'd rather stand. Why the hell am I here?" She put a hand on her hip as she spat out the question. Just looking at this guy had her in a bad mood, and she was already in a bad mood after dealing with Itachi and Kisame, so it only got worse.

"You're here, because I have a mission for you." He stated calmly, ignoring Miki's attitude. He had a knack for that. It was like the man just didn't care that he pissed off one of the few Jinchuriki that could fully control their beast and could probably easily kick his little ass. Oh well, a 'mission' would probably get her out of Amegakure. That would be a chance to get the hell away from the Akatsuki.

"What a pain in the ass. Trying to keep up the appearance that this village is more than a base for your organization?" She growled and started to leave the room. Her way was immediately blocked by Konan. Fuck. Oh well, she figured she'd get trapped in the room anyways.

"Your mission is to go into Konoha and work with the Kyuubi Jinchuriki." He said as his partner closed and locked the door to keep Miki in. She turned back to face him, coming close to punching the shit out of the pierced up bastard.

"I will _not_ take part in a plot against my cousin, Pein." Miki literally spat at him and crossed her arms.

"Whether you agree to this or not is not your choice. The only thing keeping you alive is the agreement I made with Itachi." He smirked as he wiped her spit off his face. She scowled, narrowing her eyes. _'That damn bastard…buying my compliance with threats against my life.'_ She thought sourly.

"You realize how stupid it is to attempt to put the Kyuubi and Nanabi even in the same village!" A hand connected hard with her cheek and she turned her glare on Konan.

"You will take a more polite tone!" Konan shouted angrily. Pein laughed a little.

"Konan…no need for violence. You will leave immediately for Konohagakure, Miki. A standard grade Hitai-ate is in your quarters." Pein said dismissively. Seeing that neither of them would stop her from leaving, she unlocked the door and left without a word, frowning.

_'Damn him…I'll deal with it for now…but I'll kill Itachi for giving that ass an edge over me.'_ She stormed down to her room and shoved her weapons and two changes of clothes into her pack before grabbing the Hitai-ate that had been left on her desk and tying it with a loud snap over her forehead. She straightened her short, spikey hair and headed for the exit nearest the border. The less she got rained on while she headed for home, the better.

"You heading somewhere, hm?" Deidara asked as she passed through one of the rec rooms. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"None of your damn business. Go blow yourself up." She spat out the words and bumped into Hidan. Just what she needed. She really wanted to kill something at that moment, but she didn't want to beat Hidan to 'death' and listen to him complain about it while Kakuzu stitched him up.

"Watch where you're walking, dammit." Hidan growled at her. Okay, she was obviously in a _really_ bad mood, and he had the nerve to turn his stupid mouth on her? Dumbass.

"Then don't fucking stand in the way when someone's talking!" She yelled, throwing him into the wall and leaving the room. She could hear his complaints as she walked down the hall towards the exit.

"It's easy to forget how strong that little brat is…you're okay, hm?" She heard Deidara first.

"Damn bitch." She heard Hidan growl loudly. "That really hurt."

"Considering there's a massive dent in the wall, eh." Deidara laughed slightly. "Anyone else would have been dead." So she'd put that much force into the throw? She hadn't noticed. If even Deidara commented about it, it was probably deeper than Hidan was thick. She let out a small laugh and continued on. She heard footsteps and quickened her step.

"Where are you heading, Miki?" Itachi asked, grabbing her shoulder as he caught up with her. She could hear another set of footsteps that probably belonged to Kisame coming up on them as she yanked out of Itachi's grasp.

"You don't know?" She asked quizzically.

"Know what? Oh. What's with the Hitai-ate, Miki?" Kisame asked as he caught up.

"I'm stuck doing Itachi's dirty work. Dealing with my nuisance of a cousin." Miki spat out. She was pissed off as it was, she just wanted to get the hell out of there and home so that she could finally relax at least a little.

"Well then…have fun with that." Kisame said, turning to leave. He turned the bend just as Itachi reached for Miki.

"I had nothing to do with this…" Itachi started. She hit his hand away and stepped back.

"I don't care. It's your fault I'm even in this mess! If you had just let them kill me when Kisame caught me…" She hesitated. She didn't know what to say after that. How could she honestly say that it would have been better if she'd just been killed? She wouldn't have had to deal with all this bullshit, that was for sure.

"Miki…you're like a little sister…" Itachi reached towards her again. She hit him away again.

"If I was like a little sister to you, you would have let them kill me! The same way you killed the rest of your family!" She shouted, tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. "Like you killed the only family I've ever had…" The night he'd slaughtered the Uchiha clan was still burned into her mind, so it was hard to forgive him for that—not that she'd ever even _want_ to forgive him for that.

She blinked away the tears. "I'm leaving. And I hope I never have to come back here. Not unless they really plan to kill me next time." She sighed. "I am not a pet." She shoved past Itachi and ran down the hall, out of the hideout.

XX

"Miss, do you have a pass?" The Chunin at the gate asked politely as Miki entered Konoha.

"Yes, I do." She said, pulling a card out of her pocket. "I was sent as a part of a peace effort from Amegakure no Satou."

"I see…" The Chunin said, nodding slowly. "Then you'll need to speak with the interim Hokage."

"Okay." Miki said lightly and started down the road. She followed once familiar roads to the Hokage's mansion and sighed a little in relief at being back in Konoha.

"Can I help you, miss?" The secretary asked as she stepped through the door.

"I need to speak with the Hokage. About several things." She answered, surveying the people running around working on organizing different events. They certainly seemed busy…oh right. The Chunin Exams just recently ended. They must have been setting up promotions and such.

"Ah…well, we have an Interim Hokage right now. The new Hokage hasn't been appointed yet." The secretary said nervously. She shrugged a little, brushing a bit of her hair out of her face.

"That's good enough. I just need to speak with a leadership official in order to finalize my temporary transfer." Miki sighed.

"Oh. The office is on the third floor, the only door on the inner wall." The secretary gestured in a circle, describing the layout of the third floor.

"Okay." She said, turning towards the stairs. _'I already knew where that stupid office was…only because of my past. The hell happened to the Third?'_ She could feel the secretary's surprised gaze until she got out of the woman's line of sight. Miki climbed the stairs and knocked on the office door when she reached the third floor.

"Come in." A male voice called from inside. _'The hell is that guy? He sounds way older than even the Third.'_ She thought sourly as she opened the door and bowed slightly.

"Excuse me."

"You are?" The man asked her. _'Oh shit.'_ She recognized the man as Danzou, the one that tried to have her killed before, for the sole purpose that she was a Jinchuriki.

"Uzumaki Miki. I am from Amegakure. I was sent by my village leader as a part of a peace effort with Konoha." She said in answer to his question. He didn't seem to recognize her face, but when she said her name, his expression changed a little.

"I see…I'll have you work with Hatake Kakashi and his students." Danzou smirked. "Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke." Miki nodded slightly as he listed the names.

"Understood. In that case, I will be able to stay at my cousin's apartment." Danzou frowned. He was expecting her to be more aggravated about the arrangement. Well, she was aggravated enough as it was, she wasn't going to let some old guy with a vendetta against Jinchuriki in general to bother her when she could kill him without so much as blinking. She smirked and bowed again.

"I hope that you have a good day, Sir."

"You as well." He said haughtily as she backed out of the room. _'Damn…it had to be that guy stuck there until a new Hokage is placed…he'll send us on a mission with intentions of getting Naruto and me killed!'_ Miki thought as she walked to a window and jumped out. She landed in a crouch and headed for Ichiraku, tracing the roads from her childhood memories.

"Miki, right?" A boy yelled at her and ran over. The voice startled her and she looked at the boy, immediately recognizing him.

"Sasuke…hey."

"It's been a long time…right?" He asked, glancing around.

"Yea…it has. Almost five years. How've you been?" She asked nervously. She hadn't seen Sasuke since she'd been caught by Kisame. And that had been right after Itachi had joined Akatsuki.

"Five years huh…? I've been fine. Are you back for good? I'd heard that you'd been kidnapped and probably killed by the Akatsuki." He examined her expression intensely. She smiled a little, trying to get him to lighten up.

"Hopefully…and yea, I was kidnapped. But they didn't kill me. I survived and ran away. Been in Amegakure for the past three years. I'm a Jounin now." She said, trying to sound proud of a rank that didn't exist in the Akatsuki. That story had been what she'd come up with to tell anyone who remembered her from her short time at the academy before she graduated and got captured.

"Wow…where were you heading?" He asked, realizing that she'd been heading in a direction, determined.

"I was gonna see if I couldn't get some ramen at Ichiraku." She said quietly. "But I just remembered that I don't have any money."

"Oh…I have some money. Enough for both of us to eat there…if you want." Sasuke suggested quietly. She smiled at him.

"Thanks." She started walking again. Sasuke hurried to catch up with her.

"Did you already talk to whoever's in charge right now?" He asked when he was walking beside her. She nodded a little.

"Yea. I've been assigned to work with a team." She glanced at him.

"Really? Which one?" Sasuke asked, an eyebrow raised. She sighed, remembering that she had to deal with stupid Naruto.

"The team under Hatake Kakashi." She sighed.

"That's my team!" He exclaimed. She nodded again.

"I know. But it means I have to deal with my idiot cousin Naruto!" She exclaimed dramatically. She laughed a little in her mind. She hadn't been back in Konoha for even an hour and she'd already gotten over her bad mood. Sasuke used to always have that effect on her. She was glad he still had that kind of effect even after five years.

"Yea…that part of it sucks. He's a pain in the ass to work with." He paused. "But he has his good points sometimes." She laughed out loud.

"Defending him or something?" She asked sarcastically. He shrugged as they reached the ramen stand.

"Nah. Just saying." He said and pushed a flap at the entrance to Ichiraku out of Miki's way. She smiled a little.

"Thanks…" She went inside the stand and sat down. "I'd like a bowl of pork ramen please?"

"I'll have the same…" Sasuke sat beside her.

"No problem!" Ichiraku turned and started making the food.

"You know we have a mission in the morning, right?" Sasuke asked lightly.

"No…What is it?" She turned to Sasuke and suddenly felt like she was being watched with hate. "What the hell…?" She turned to look outside. Ten girls were peeking into the stand, hatred in their expressions. She blinked in surprise.

"The hell?" Miki glared at them and her hand rested over a weapon bag at her upper leg. The girls immediately scrambled to get away, seeing that she'd probably kill them if they stayed. She turned to Sasuke.

"You know what that was about?" He shrugged a little.

"Fan girls…I thought they'd all given up…" He sighed. "Girls have been following me around ever since you disappeared." She smirked a little at that.

"Well…if that's the reason they started following you, then I'll just make sure they stop." Miki winked as the bowls of ramen were placed in front of them. She stared at the bowl, excited.

"What?" Sasuke asked, watching her.

"Nothing. I just haven't looked at food this good in a while." She said and grabbed her chopsticks. She then dug into the bowl of ramen noisily. Sasuke sighed and did the same.


	2. Crossing Over

**2- Crossing Over**

This is harder than I thought it would be…but I'm not giving up!

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"Hey Miki!" They heard Naruto shout as they exited Ichiraku. The stupid blond was running down the street in the direction of his apartment when he'd spotted his red-haired cousin. They both groaned a little at the sight of him.

"Oh great…who paged him?" Sasuke muttered sarcastically, earning a small shove in the ribs from Miki. She shook her head a little.

"Sasuke…" She laughed a little and waved at Naruto. "Hello, Cousin." He stopped running and grinned at her.

"Haven't seen you around in a while! You been okay?" He asked happily. Sasuke sighed and absently put an arm around Miki's waist. She hesitated a moment, taken aback by Sasuke's gesture.

"Um…I've been all right. How about you, Naruto?" She asked, feigning casualty.

"Great! You should have been here a few days ago! The Chunin Exam just ended!" The blond exclaimed, clearly excited.

"So loud…Miki…where are you planning on staying? I've got stuff I need to do." Sasuke said right in her ear. She shivered a little, but shrugged.

"I was gonna commandeer a space in Naruto's apartment." She smirked and pressed herself closer to Sasuke. "Were you offering a bed?" He blushed brightly.

"N-Not really…but i-if you w-wanted…" He trailed off, stuttering incoherently. She smiled in response.

"Sure. I'll catch up with you later, Naruto." She said to her cousin brightly.

"Cool. We should get ramen sometime then! See ya!" Naruto waved and ran off to his apartment.

"I don't understand how anyone can stand him." Sasuke sighed once the little ball of sunshine was gone.

"Very true…but he has a likable aura about him. It just repels me." She said with a shrug. "What was it you needed to do?"

"Get away from him. But since you're…" He paused, clearly either nervous or unsure, or both. Miki laughed lightly.

"Let's go home. I need to rest from my run anyways. It took me a whole day and a half to get here." She stifled a forced yawn to emphasize the point.

"Then we'll head that way." They started walking, Sasuke's arm still around her waist.

XX

"Sasuke?" A voice called from outside the house. They hadn't even gotten settled in the living room with the books they'd pulled out yet! What did it take to get a few minutes of peace?

"Oh great…it's Sakura." Sasuke said, starting to get up with a pissed look on his face. "Coming!"

"Oh." Miki got up before he managed and hurried to the door. She opened it and smiled at the strawberry blond who was tapping her foot impatiently. "Hello, Sakura." Sakura blinked in surprise.

"Miki…?" She took a moment to examine Miki and make sure it was her. "Oh my god! Miki! What are you doing here?"

"She lives here." Sasuke said angrily behind Miki. "What do you want, Sakura?"

"Kakashi-sensei wants us all to meet up real quick at the sweet shop. Just to hammer out a few details of the mission tomorrow." Sakura answered, beaming at Sasuke. He rolled his eyes and turned to their shoes.

"Then let's get our shoes on, Miki." He picked up both pairs.

"Thanks." She smiled as she took her boots from him.

"Wait a second! Only members of Team 7 can—!"

"Miki _is_ a member of Team 7." Sasuke cut her off as he finished getting his shoes on.

"On orders." She added, buckling the last strap on her boots. She straightened up and smirked at Sakura. "You have a problem with that, Sakura?"

"N-No. I just didn't know." She answered nervously. Sasuke sighed.

"Let's go then." He said tiredly. Sakura turned and ran down the road away from the house. "Damn…why the hell can't he just leave us alone the night before a mission?" He sighed again, thinking aloud.

"I dunno. But let's go." She left the house and headed for the sweet shop in a run.

"Hey! Wait up!" Sasuke yelled, running to catch up with her. She laughed and sped up.

"You have to be faster than that, Sasuke!" She yelled over her shoulder at him.

"Damn. She's fast." He sped up. Miki beat him to the shop and skidded to a halt. Unable to stop fast enough, Sasuke knocked into her and they both landed on the ground, Sasuke on top of Miki.

"Ow!" She laughed, then stared at Sasuke when she realized that he was on top of her.

"Sorry." He smiled slightly, blushing. She smiled back, her face red as her hair.

"Sasuke…?"

"Oh." He hurried to get up and dusted himself off, his face embarrassingly red. Miki laughed again and stood, dusting her clothes off as well. "Sorry." She waved a hand and realized that Sakura was glaring at her.

_'The hell is her problem?'_ She thought sourly as she sent a glare right back at the other girl. Naruto showed up and they settled in to wait for Kakashi. _'I can't believe that Kakashi would call his students together and actually not show up before them. Even a moment after them would be nice. But no. We've been here for an hour at least!'_ She thought angrily. It was almost exactly an hour and a half since they'd arrived. _'Oh. There he is.'_ Kakashi showed up just then.

"Sorry I'm late guys…I had to help an old lady with her groceries…" He trailed off and stared at Miki. "I didn't think you'd be here till morning, Miki." She shrugged.

"I'm a fast runner. Get on with whatever it is we're here for. I'd like to get some rest if you don't mind." She spat out the words and folded her arms across her chest. She was sure that the only reason Kakashi didn't react negatively to her attitude was the simple fact that he was probably already informed of her 'rank'. She saw that Sasuke was staring at her and figured he was thinking the same. The older Jounin laughed slightly.

"All right then!" He launched into a long-winded explanation of the mission.

XX

"Will you quit pacing like that, Miki? It's really annoying." Sakura said sourly. Miki had been pacing since the third hour of waiting had passed.

"The hell kind of idiot says to meet at a certain time and doesn't show up? And you can get over it, Sakura." She growled, continuing her pacing. "If I didn't pace, I'd probably kill something!" She probably would too—she didn't have a regenerating punching bag on hand at that point in time.

"Seriously…he's always late." Sasuke pointed out calmly.

"That's beside the point! If he's not here in five minutes, we're leaving without him!" She stopped pacing long enough to yell and started back up again, angrier than before. Sasuke sighed and shook his head. About three minutes later, Kakashi finally arrived. Miki glared at him.

"Sorry I'm late! I got a bit lost on the way." He said, rubbing the back of his head.

"LIAR!" Naruto, Miki, and Sakura yelled at the same time.

"Great…can we just get going?" Sasuke sighed.

"Right! This is a very important mission! Let's go." Kakashi started walking, as though he'd been on time. Miki sighed.

"This is more trouble than it's worth." She started after him. Naruto hurried to follow, while Sakura and Sasuke took up the rear. Sasuke almost immediately quickened his pace to fall into step beside Miki.

XX

"Let's rest here for the night." Kakashi said as they stopped running for a moment. The sun was barely sinking into the horizon and they'd stopped in a small clearing. Miki stared at him in surprise.

"We're staying for the _night_? Seriously…this is stupid. I can't believe I got stuck with you guys." She spat the words out like a curse and jumped into a tree.

"You can take the first watch!" Kakashi yelled after her. She rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. You're a ninja, you should know better than to sleep on a mission." She growled, leaning back on the tree trunk and using a concealing technique to hide the team's presence.

XX

"Ki! You ready to go?" Sara yelled into the box filled house from the living room. Nakira rolled her eyes a little as she started weaving her way through the boxes and towards the front of the house through her bedroom.

"Yea! I'm coming!" She yelled as she made it out of her room. "Ow!" She tripped over a box and landed on another in a tangle of brown dress and red hair. Damn, they really needed to get finished unpacking and those boxes gone.

"What happened?" Sara's voice carried to her.

"Tripped on a box!" She picked herself up and grabbed her backpack from beside her bedroom door. "You fix breakfast or something?" She stepped into the living room to see dark green hair flying as Sara shook her head vigorously.

"Nope. Just unpacking a few boxes in the kitchen before we had to leave for school." She gestured to the five empty boxes by the entrance to the kitchen. It was obvious to Nakira that her stupid roommate had used her telekinetic abilities to unpack them.

"You used your powers…didn't you?" She asked, folding her arms under her breasts.

"A little…" Sara pinched her fingers together. An understatement. As she knew that Sara never got out of bed before she did and they had both only been awake for less than an hour. It was humanly impossible to unpack five of their boxes in the kitchen—most of which contained the contents of Sara's kitchen from the house she'd been renting before but had been kicked out of—in the thirty minutes after Sara finished getting ready to go.

"We agreed that we wouldn't use any powers to unpack!" She glanced into the kitchen at the stove and noticed that it was sparkling clean. The green-haired chit had used her powers over water to clean it with salt water! "And we agreed not to use powers to clean!" Sara smiled a little, unfazed by her roommate's rage.

"Come on! You know I can't resist! And the stove wouldn't get as clean as I want it without using salt water!" She said innocently. Nakira just shook her head. The girl was hopeless. The reason they'd agreed not to use any of their supernatural powers was so they wouldn't draw attention to themselves.

"Whatever…Byakuya said that he'd walk home with us to help unpack some." She said coyly, trying to avoid overreacting by thinking of something pleasant.

"You're impossible. Let's go. At this rate, we'll be late for class." Sara grabbed her backpack and opened the door. "Oh! Looks like rain!"

"R-Rain?" Nakira looked outside nervously. "It had better not rain…"

"Aqua-phobic." Sara smirked and left the house. Nakira frowned.

"Am not!" She shot at her as she locked the door and hurried to the road. "There's a difference between disliking the rain and being afraid of water."

XX

"Hey guys!" Sara said as she and Nakira entered the Student Center. Their usual table was surprisingly empty. The only ones there were Rukia, Uryu, and Orihime.

"What's up?" Nakira waved at the three of them and sat down at the table. Sara sat down as well, smiling.

"Hey, Rukia. Where's Ichigo? I didn't see him in class." She asked the darker haired girl sulking at the end of the table.

"I don't know…he was supposed to meet me here after his classes…" She responded sadly.

"Don't feel bad! Byakuya didn't show up for class either." Sara laughed.

"Hey! Byakuya is busy! He called me before our first class started to tell me he was taking care of some business in Soul Society." Nakira returned, more than a little aggravated with her friend.

"Whatever. Renji and the others are missing too…I wonder what happened." Sara mused quietly.

"Either way, we need to get home. There's still a lot to do with the move and everything." Nakira stood, brushing her bright red hair out of her eyes.

"Yea…we should get going. See you guys tomorrow." Sara stood as well and started for the door.

"Do you guys need some help? Orihime and I don't have any plans tonight." Uryu offered before Nakira left as well. She smiled a little at the offer.

"Thanks, Ishida. But we've got it." She headed for the door.

"Seriously, thanks Ishida. See you guys tomorrow!" Sara hurried out of the building and the two of them hurried to their house.

"Something's up." Nakira said, stopping as she stepped onto the driveway.

"What?" Sara asked, heading for the front door. Nakira caught her with her and shook her head.

"Nothing. There's just something off about this evening." She mused. "It's the Autumnal Equinox…"

"You think that every holiday has something odd going on. No worries." Sara said lightly as she unlocked the door and went in. She followed and flipped on the light.

"SURPRISE!" A loud, collective shout startled the two girls. Nakira looked around at all of the peopled scattered throughout their spacious living room.

"Byakuya, Renji, Ichigo, Chad…" She started in surprise, looking around.

"Rangiku, Toshiro, Yumichika, and Ikkaku…" Sara finished, also scanning the space. There were no boxes.

"THANK YOU!" They both exclaimed as they realized this.

"I can't believe you guys did this for us!" Sara covered her mouth and smiled.

"Byakuya…" Nakira hesitated. "You…lied to me this morning?" He lifted his hands in surrender, noticing her murderous glare.

"No! I said I was taking care of business, and I was."

"You said that your business was in Soul Society…" She clenched her fist. He hurried over to her and took her hands in his, sighing.

"I only said that because we were all going to surprise you."

"Look, we all forced him to lie to you, Vice-Captain." Ikkaku said quickly.

"Yea, even Rukia and the others were in on it." Rangiku added. It was obvious by how frantically they were speaking that no one wanted Nakira to get too extremely pissed—things had a tendency to get destroyed when she got too pissed to control herself.

"You guys dragged Rukia…so she was actually acting earlier?" Sara gasped. Ichigo grinned.

"Yea. You mean you actually believed her?"

"She didn't say much, but she was fairly believable." Sara answered, smiling.

"Great…that means we can't…" Nakira started. "Eh. I need to put my stuff down." She said as she started for her room.

"I'll go with you." Byakuya followed her. She turned to the rest.

"If any of you other than Ichigo and Captain Hitsugaya are still here when my door shuts, you get to fight me." She smirked. She heard them all fleeing as she went into her room. She shut the door behind Byakuya and tossed her backpack onto the freshly made bed.

XX

"The hell? Oy! You guys wake up!" Miki shouted, shaking her teammates gruffly. She'd woken up on the ground, not in the tree she'd fallen asleep in the night before, so that had tipped her off to something hinky. The hinkiest thing about the situation was they were in a meadow of some sort—the exact _opposite_ of the forest clearing they'd stopped in!

"Huh…?" Sakura shook her head and sat up. "What's wrong, Miki?"

"You're pathetic!" She sighed. Sasuke jumped awake, his hand flying to his Kunai.

"What happened?" He looked around, on guard and expecting an attack.

"At least someone is better about reacting…OY! KAKASHI, WAKE THE HELL UP!" She yelled right in Kakashi's ear, waking him up with a start.

"What? Huh?" He looked around groggily. Miki smacked her forehead in exasperation. Sasuke realized that something was wrong, but that they weren't getting attacked.

"Where the hell are we? This isn't where we stopped at sundown." He looked to Miki.

"The hell if I know? Will you wake up my stupid cousin? I think he might have died." She jabbed a finger at Naruto, passed out on the ground. The blond seemed like he wouldn't wake even if you dropped a house on him. Sasuke smirked and kicked him in the head.

"Huh?" Naruto jumped up and rubbed his head. "The hell was that for?"

"Ask Miki." Sasuke pointed at her.

"The hell are you blaming me for?" She asked crossly.

"Okay…I thought that it was over here…" A young male voice said slowly, coming closer to them.

"Are you sure you saw where it was, Captain?" A female voice responded. Miki looked up and rested her hand on her kunai case.

"You don't think…?" Sasuke glanced at her.

"I doubt it but still…" She reached for her backpack with her other hand.

"Nakira, do not draw your blade." The male said crossly.

"They have weapons drawn. I can see them now." The woman responded as the two of them came into view. The others immediately got on the ready.

"Hold on now! We come in peace." The male—the shorter of the two—lifted his hands. Miki stepped up and held a hand out.

"Prove it. Your blades. On the ground." She tossed the kunai she'd drawn to the ground and dropped her backpack.

"Okay." The male pulled a sword from his back as the sun started to rise. The woman did the same.

"I'm Division Thirteen Vice-Captain Nakira Taisho." She started as the light of the sun revealed that she was wearing a short, sleeveless black dress and had dark red hair that covered half of her face. The male—who looked more a boy than the man his tone suggested—was revealed to be wearing a similar black hakama and white haori and that he had short white hair.

"Uzumaki Miki, Amegakure no Satou Special Ops S-Class. These are Hatake Kakashi, Konohagakure no Satou Special Jounin S-Class; Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke, Konohagakure no Satou Genin C-Class." Miki said, lowering her hand.

"Division Ten Captain Hitsugaya Toshiro. I have never heard of those two places…Taisho?" The boy said, glancing at Nakira. She nodded a little.

"I have…and I recognize your names. Captain, I'll take care of this situation. Go ahead and give the report to the commander and I'll turn my report in right before my meeting tonight." She said, picking up Toshiro's blade and handing it to him. He slung it across his back.

"Fine. I won't be the one held responsible if you don't get it in." He drew a dagger from his coat and stabbed the air. He disappeared almost instantly through a set of old fashioned doors that appeared.

"Okay then. Why don't you guys come with me?" Nakira said, covering her eyes as the sun glared in her face.

"To where?" Sasuke asked as he picked up Miki's backpack and held it out to her.

"My house." She answered, picking her sword up and hooking it to her belt. Miki took her backpack from Sasuke and slung it onto her back.

"Where exactly are we?"

"Hey…I'm…" Kakashi started. She held up a hand as she picked up her kunai.

"Not experienced in unknown territories. _You_ have never dealt with a situation in which you have been in a completely unknown location. No intelligence available on the territory or its inhabitants." She growled. "I expect an answer, Vice-Captain Taisho."

"Someone's forceful." The other red-head laughed, turning. Her form rippled in the sunlight and settled into a more conservative style—from the short black dress that her large breasts were almost hanging out of to a dark red plaid dress that reached just below her knees with long sleeves and a corset. "Walk with me." She started walking and Miki fell into step beside her. The rest hurried to follow the two red haired girls. "You are in the human world. In the town of Karakura. It's a prefecture of the city of Tokyo." Nakira stated calmly as she turned onto a street.

"But how did we get here?" Sasuke mused.

"That is the question I intend to find an answer to." She replied.

"You said that you knew of Amegakure…" Miki started. Nakira laughed.

"And Konoha. Yes. I know that Konohagakure just was devastated by an attack from S-Class criminal Orochimaru in concurrence with Sunagakure and his followers in the village known as Otogakure. The Third Hokage was killed in the struggle and they are preparing to search for the Sannin Tsunade to fill his spot." She stated calmly.

"How do you know all of that?" Sakura asked, surprised. Miki figured it had something to do with the fact that this woman was obviously not human.

"That would be the million dollar question, now wouldn't it? Though…" Nakira paused and looked at Miki. "I know your last name, and where your family comes from, but I have no idea about you yourself. Your name and history are a mystery to me."

"Are you trying to say that you know everything about us?" Sasuke asked darkly.

"In essence, yes." She answered and turned onto a driveway in front of a little house.

"That's impossible." Miki growled.

"Nothing is impossible if you know what the possibilities are." She said lightly, stopping at the front door of the house and pulling out a key. "You guys are lucky that I don't have school today."

"School? How old are you?" Sakura asked suddenly.

"Though it doesn't matter, well over four thousand years." She opened the door and stepped inside, leaving the group in shock. "Sara! We have company!" She called into the house. "Hm…guess she went to Kirigakure to visit her mother…" She sighed when no answer came.

"Kirigakure?" Sakura frowned. Nakira smiled slightly.

"My roommate is half ninja. Part of the reason I know about the villages. Sara keeps me up to date on the latest things going on there. Now…" She turned to the group. "Any other questions?"

"Yea. What are you?" Miki asked angrily.

"I'm wondering how the hell all of this is relevant!" Sasuke said at the same time.

"Really now…one at a time. I'll explain it all quickly." Nakira said calmly, laughing a little.

%%%

So this one was a bit long. But I didn't want to cut it off in the middle of the scene as we'd written it originally.


	3. Drama

**3- Drama**

So here's chapter three. And just so everyone knows, the way Naki-chan and I wrote this was role play style. She played some of the characters and I played some of the characters and we wrote the story by each individual character's actions.

%%%

Seeing that the group was in clear need of a new, more 'normal' wardrobe, Nakira decided to take them to the mall with her when she went to meet with Byakuya. She was already about two hours late to meet with him.

"Ki! I was beginning to wonder if you weren't going to show up." He said when they got there, smiling at her. She folded her arms playfully.

"Sorry…I had some stuff to take care of. As it is, I'm probably going to have to fully split from my body to go to my meeting later." She pouted. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the group of ninja looking between her and Byakuya. Miki cleared her throat.

"I see you have guests?" Byakuya asked, an eyebrow raised and his usual serious attitude coming back. Damn those kids for ruining one of the few times she ever got to see him let loose.

"You could say that. I have to foot the bill for them a less noticeable wardrobe." She sighed, indicting Naruto's bright jumpsuit and Kakashi's outfit. Sakura, Sasuke, and Miki all had decent outfits—not counting the fact that Sasuke was wearing a jumpsuit—so they weren't that bad. "Guys, this is my boyfriend, Kuchiki Byakuya. Byakuya, these guys are Uzumaki Miki and Naruto, Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura."

"Ah…nice to meet you." He bowed slightly in acknowledgement. Miki smirked and tucked a stray hair behind her ear.

"Nice to meet you." She said lightly and walked off. Sasuke watched her for a second and sighed tiredly.

"Don't worry about her. She's like that." He said and ran after her. Sakura ran after them and Kakashi shook his head a little.

"I'll go make sure they don't make trouble. Come on, Naruto." He started after them and Naruto followed reluctantly.

"At least they apparently know when to leave a couple alone." Byakuya smirked, his previous loose attitude returning now that they were alone.

"Miki and Kakashi at least. The other three…they're a bit dense." She responded, taking his hand.

"Not necessarily. Sasuke seems almost on Miki's level." He said lightly. "We both have meetings at the same time…and we don't have class in the morning. Do you plan to stay over after your meeting?" She smiled slightly.

"I'm not sure. Normally, I would say yes immediately…but with those guys…" She sighed, trailing off.

"I understand…" He kissed her lightly on the cheek. "Do you think they'll be able to survive without supervision then?" She blushed a little.

"Miki isn't the team captain, but she's taken charge." She started walking. "Let's get some shopping done while we're alone. And no talking about anything other than us, please." He nodded.

"Okay then." He walked with her.

XX

"You idiot! Can you not pay attention to what the people around are wearing?" Miki yelled at Naruto as he tried to put together yet another outrageous looking outfit.

"Miki…calm down…people are staring…" Sakura said slowly, trying to diffuse the situation. The two cousins had been going at it almost constantly.

"Honestly…" She shook her head. "Whatever. You guys do what you want." She turned and walked off. Sasuke started to follow her and Sakura approached him.

"I guess that just leaves us…Sasuke."

"Why don't we all just split up and meet back up when we're done?" Kakashi suggested.

"Whatever." Sasuke groaned, shoving his hands in his pockets and walking off in the direction that Miki went. Dammit…why did he completely ignore Sakura when she'd been around for so long and yet follow Miki around like a shadow when that girl had been missing for five years before showing up at random? It wasn't fair.

"Am I the only one to notice how he follows her around?" Naruto asked, surprisingly having a moment of intelligence.

"No." She growled, glaring after Sasuke.

"Well then…I'll be going." Kakashi said slowly and walked off, making his escape.

"So…Sakura…" Naruto started. She turned her glare on him.

"I'd rather fight Miki." She cut him off and stormed away.

XX

"I can't believe this…Nakira!" Sara yelled as she entered the kitchen and saw the pile of dishes in the sink.

"She just went to her meeting with Byakuya." Miki said, entering the kitchen from the back hall.

"Who the hell are you?" She stared at Miki, who only sighed.

"Uzumaki Miki. Sorry to intrude, but Nakira couldn't miss her meeting."

"Uzumaki…? Oh great. Don't tell me that Naruto…" She started.

"Oy! Nakira said to stay out of shit, Naruto!" Kakashi's voice almost shook the house. Sara's eye twitched angrily.

"Hey! Will you keep it down? I have neighbors you know!" She yelled in the direction of the guest bedroom/training hall/office. "That was Kakashi?" Miki nodded.

"Unfortunately. Their whole team is here." She scowled. Sasuke came into the kitchen, looking pissed.

"I'm out of here." He said, heading for the back door.

"Hey! Nakira said that we need to stay here." Miki hurried after him and they disappeared outside, leaving Sara confused and more than a little annoyed.

XX

"Taisho! Come over here for a moment." Sasakibe waved at Nakira. The meetings just barely ended and he'd already spotted her.

"Oh shit…" She sighed and walked over. "What?"

"Your report from the incident this morning was expected during the meeting." He frowned. She smiled a little.

"I intended to give it during the meeting, but Captain Ukitake needed me to cover for him." She said slowly. Fortunately, that seemed to satisfy Sasakibe.

"Fine then. Before you return to the real world, I expect a written report in." She nodded.

"Understood. I'll make sure to get that in." She said and turned.

"Nakira!" Rangiku called, waving her over to where she was chatting with Isane and Kira.

"What's up?" She asked, hurrying over to her friend.

"You missed the meeting! I was hoping to hear your side of what happened the morning!" She put an arm around her shoulder.

"On the way to my division barracks. I have to take my notes from the meeting to Captain Ukitake." She sighed, twisting out of Rangiku's grip.

"What are you up to?" Byakuya said behind them, smiling minutely.

"We were just about to head to Division Thirteen. I need to take these notes to Captain Ukitake before I head back home to make sure that Miki's group hasn't killed each other or destroyed the house." She answered brightly.

"Ah…did you remember to turn in that report?" He asked, almost jokingly.

"Things got crazy when I got here, so no. But I've got it ready to turn in…sitting on the desk in the office. So I'll be turning it in before I head home." She shrugged, trying to make light of her obvious disappointment in herself. She was a vice-captain, but she had the responsibilities of both a vice-captain and a captain because of her captain's ill health. She hated it when she slipped up and made mistakes like leaving a report on her desk when it needed to be turned in as soon as possible.

"Ah. Do you want some company?" He asked lightly. She sighed tiredly.

"Fine. You already know what's going on for the most part anyways…" He nodded.

"Then I'll go with you." They headed for the Division Thirteen barracks, Nakira explaining the recent chain of events to a disconcerted Rangiku—most of the Vice-Captains got like that when Byakuya decided to tag along like that. They stopped in front of the Division Ten gate.

"Hm…well, that's interesting and all. But I'm certainly glad I'm not you. See you." Rangiku slipped through the gates almost too quickly.

"Shall we then?" Byakuya smiled at Nakira, taking her hand as though he'd been waiting anxiously for the two of them to be alone to have that touch.

"You were just waiting for Rangiku to leave us alone, weren't you?" She laughed, threading her fingers in his. "Do you plan to check in on Captain Ukitake? Or are you going to wait outside for me?"

"I'll wait outside for you." He sighed. They soon got to the Division Thirteen gate and Nakira kissed his cheek lightly.

"I'll be back in a minute." She hurried through the gates and to the office. "Kiyone! Sentarou!" She hollered loudly into the grounds as she entered the office backwards. The two ran over, clearly inebriated.

She shook her head a little. "You two have been drinking again…" She sighed. "Honestly…go sober up. And for heaven's sake, _stay_ sober until I get back from the human world!" She scolded them. The two saluted and ran off, clearly terrified of their angry Vice-Captain.

"You shouldn't scare them like that…" Captain Ukitake sighed, leaning on the doorframe of his room.

"And you shouldn't be up, Captain." She hurried to him and got him back in his bed. "You'll only keep getting sick if you don't actually _rest_ when you're sick."

"You worry too much." He sighed. She rolled her eyes.

"And you don't worry enough about yourself. Now. I brought notes from the meeting for you to look over and I've already taken care of most of the paperwork that's piled up."

"Thank you for doing so much." He paused. "Didn't you have a report to turn in?" What was it with everyone hounding her about the stupid report?

"Not you too…" She groaned. "Yes. And it's prepared. I just have to go turn it in before I head home."

"You're not spending the night with Captain Kuchiki?" She went scarlet.

"N-No…unfortunately, I have company at the house and I have to babysit."

"Ah. How many are staying with you?"

"Five…and we only have a few beds…" She groaned again, remembering the chaos that was filling the house when she'd left. "Anyways…I guess I should get going. Do you need anything else, Captain?"

"Some of that soup you made earlier would be nice…"

"Okay. I'll go heat it up." She hurried to the kitchen area and filled a bowl with hot soup. She took the bowl and a glass of water into the room. "Here you go." She handed it to him.

"Thank you." He drank the soup almost in one gulp.

"Don't drink too fast…" She sighed, shaking her head slightly. "There's plenty in the pot for two more bowls. And another full pot in the cooler. I also refilled the ice before the meeting in case your fever goes up. And the towels and rags are freshly cleaned and in the cabinet." She paused. "I also fixed the intercom system so the San-seki can hear if you need anything."

"You work too hard…"

"Someone around here has to." She muttered, heading back into the office. "I'm going to grab that report and turn it in so I can head home and make sure Naruto didn't destroy anything." She shuffled through the papers on the desk, searching for her report.

"Okay." He sighed. "You really do work too hard. Maybe you should take a vacation?"

"Not a chance. There's too much to take care of without worrying about taking a vacation." She growled, finding the elusive bundle of papers. "Get to feeling better, Captain. I'll come by sometime tomorrow to check in." She said lightly as she hurried out of the office and to the gate. Byakuya was waiting for her in the street, arms crossed and a blank look on his face. "Sorry it took so long." She said lightly, resting her hand lightly on his elbow.

He jumped a little. He clearly hadn't been paying attention to his surroundings if she'd been able to startle him. It made her laugh a little. "I've never seen you space out like that. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I was just thinking." He paused. "Shall we go? It's getting late."

"Okay." She smiled at him and started down the street. "I wish I could stay here tonight…"

"You said yourself, you need to be at home tonight." He caught her hand and walked with her. She wished she didn't have to though. Maybe Captain Ukitake had been right. Maybe she really did need a vacation. "But I'll see you to the gate."

"Thanks…" Her small bit of depression seeped into her voice. As they passed an alley, Byakuya pulled her off the street and hugged her tightly.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't want to be stuck dealing with them…" She groaned, crumpling into the comfort of his embrace.

"Nakira…you don't have to. You could stay with me for the night and take a break." He offered, holding her tightly. She sighed. He was the second person to suggest a 'break'.

"Why is everyone telling me to 'take a break'?"

"Because you need it. You work too hard on everything else." She groaned in response. "It's true. You're always worrying about everything else. School, Sara, work, paperwork here…" He trailed off in the extremely long list of responsibilities she had that he knew of. The actual list was a lot longer than that, but she couldn't tell anyone what was on the rest of the list. Her duties as a goddess were not the business of others.

"Okay, I get it. You think I worry too much."

"Worrying and working are two different things. You do the work of five people." He paused. "And never stop to consider how much you're overdoing it. I'm tempted to kidnap you for a few days and make you skip classes." She frowned and lifted her head to glare weakly at him.

"You wouldn't dare!"

"You think so?"

"I have a report due Monday in World History and a test in French…I _can't_ miss school Monday."

"Fine. But you do need a break. I'm sure that those five will be fine until tomorrow at least." He smiled at her and she felt her face soften. She pulled away from him, moving to go back to the street.

"Fine. I'll stay tonight. You win. But I still have to turn this report in."

"Okay." He went with her and they headed to the First Division. When they got there, Nakira hurried to the office and shoved the report onto Sasakibe's desk before leaving without a word to anyone. The moment she got outside, Byakuya grabbed her up and flash stepped to his manor, not setting her down until he had her at the door to the dining room. The smell of a rich dinner came from the table. She smiled slightly at him and went into the dining room with him.

She sat beside him at the table. He smiled and started eating after instructing one of the servants to draw a bath and make sure his room was suitable for the two of them to sleep. It made her happy to see that he seemed to have numbed himself to some things about their relationship.

He was such a stickler for rules and propriety, it really made her love him more when he made compromises like sharing a bed with her even though it was improper. Maybe it was the fact that their relationship really was very unconventional and improper that helped him make those compromises. She liked to think that it was just because he was that in love with her, she knew that she made a lot of compromises with him because she was that in love with him.

When she finished eating, Nakira sighed contentedly and leaned on Byakuya's arm. He'd finished eating as well, so he put his chopsticks down and put his arm around her. "You look like you could use a bath." He joked. She laughed a little, fully in agreement with him.

"Sure." He gently stood and pulled her with him. She complied, her normally bright eyes dull with exhaustion. She was sure she looked as tired as she suddenly felt, as Byakuya lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bath. He set her in a chair right inside the room and stepped out to call a servant to help her get cleaned up and relaxed. She grabbed his wrist before he got fully into the hall. "Stay…"

"You need a bath and I'm not going to…" He paused, blushing. It drove her crazy. Of all the 'improper' things involved in their relationship, he absolutely _refused_ to even risk seeing her naked. That was the one thing he clung to. She knew he didn't agree with pre-marital sex, much less the idea of even seeing her cleavage a little overly exposed—as happened sometimes when she did training exercises in her uniform.

"Please…?" She pleaded. She didn't want to _do_ anything. She just wanted him with her, but he was adamant about that one thing. He shook his head, his entire face turning red with embarrassment.

"No. I'll have someone help you and I'll wait." He gently pulled his wrist from her strong grasp and fled from the room. She blew her and sighed.

"Figures…" She folded her arms to wait for the servant to arrive to help. Sitting there like that, she figured it was best that Byakuya had insisted on her taking a short break. She felt so exhausted that she didn't even think she could make it to the bed after this bath before she passed out.

%%%

Yes I know, the story is a bit slow right now. But this is still only the beginning. And this story is still in progress.


	4. Discoveries

**4- Discoveries**

So here's chapter four…these are kind of slow in coming because I'm having to literally take a role play style story and write in extra details and make the story less of a dialogue and more of a story. It's headache inducing, but I'm determined to do it.

%%%

Sasuke sighed as he sat on the roof of Nakira's house, staring at the stars. There was too much going on. It was bad enough they were in a strange place like this, but having to deal with Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi all the time was just too much. On the bright side, Miki was there. At least he could handle being around her—he even enjoyed her company.

"You shouldn't stay up here too long." Miki said lightly, joining him. He looked at her and then back at the stars.

"The stars are the same here."

"I noticed. Are you okay?" He nodded a little.

"I'm fine…just frustrated. There's only so much of those three I can take at a time." He shivered a little with cold.

"I can understand that." She put a hesitant hand on his shoulder. "But it's getting cold. We need to go inside."

"How do you do it?" He asked. "I mean…how do you act like it doesn't bother you?" He looked at her to read her expression.

"Years of practice." She muttered, looking pissed. He blinked in surprise. "I lied when I said I escaped from the Akatsuki…when I was captured…they kept me alive…but only because stupid, _stupid_ Itachi seemed to want to keep me around as a pet." She said almost inaudibly. He had to strain to hear the words. "The only reason I got out was because the leader decided to send me to Konoha…"

"A _pet_?" He hissed angrily when her words sunk in. She nodded.

"Yea…Naruto's got nothing on the guys in Akatsuki with the annoyance factor…" He frowned.

"Wait a second…you mean…all this time, you were…"

"Stuck in a series of caves and tunnels with seven of the most annoying people in the world. Too many eyes on me to be able to get out and run…and too many annoyances to fight my way out…" He paused, lost for a response. She sighed heavily and grabbed his hand. "Enough of that." She stood, yanking him up with her.

He stumbled with the abrupt movement, toppling back to the roof with a heavy thud and a painful crack as his head hit the layered shingles. Miki fell along with him, landing on top of him. They were both too surprised to do or say anything for a long minute. He blushed a little, his face inches from hers.

"Miki…? Are you…okay?" She nodded slightly, her face almost as red hair.

"I'm fine." Her voice was breathless. He shifted a little, wincing as the roofing scraped his palm. Miki jumped into action immediately, getting off of him and looking at his hand. There was a nasty looking, bloody scrape on his palm. She paused a second before pulling his hand to her face and licking at the wound.

"What are you doing…?" He asked in surprise. She stopped licking and backed away.

"Sorry…"

"Don't be…but…" He paused.

"It's a weird thing…some Jinchuriki that bond with their beast pick up some habits of the animal the beast is…"

"What?" What was she talking about?

"You mean…you didn't know…? I'm a Jinchuriki…just like Naruto." He frowned.

"Jinchuriki?" She stared at him in disbelief.

"You mean…you don't even know what a Jinchuriki is…? I can't believe this…I thought that the Jinchuriki and Bijuu were common knowledge…"

"What are you talking about?" She sighed and gave him a short explanation about the nine Bijuu and the Jinchuriki. It had him in shock.

"I've never heard any of this…" He said when she finished, putting his head in his hands. "I had no idea…" Miki didn't say anything for a long beat.

"Does that…change how you think of me…?" He shook his head a little.

"No…but I understand now…why you get so distant sometimes."

"How's your hand…?" She asked, obviously trying to change the subject. He blinked and looked at his hand. His palm was completely healed. In fact, there wasn't even any blood left on his hand to even hint that he'd been cut.

"It's…fine…" He stared at his palm in disbelief. "Did you…when you…?" How was it possible? She nodded and stood again, this time reaching a hand out to pull him up rather than yanking him up with her. He was very grateful for that.

"It's late, and getting really chilly. We should get inside and warm."

"Okay…" He paused. "Miki…are you okay?"

"I'm fine…" She answered, though it was obvious that she was lying.

"You still suck at lying." It was a wonder he'd believed her before. She clenched her teeth, setting her mouth in a deep frown.

"Let's just get inside." She jumped off the roof and went inside. He paused, smirking, and went after her.

XX

The next morning dawned bright and sunny, sunlight streaming through the thin curtains in the guest bedroom to wake the sleeping forms scattered on the floor. Sasuke and Miki both woke abruptly, reaching for their weaponry while they slowly processed where they were. Sakura woke, blinking sleep from her eyes.

"What are you two getting so jumpy about…?" Kakashi woke as well, rubbing his eye and yawning.

"Something happen…?" Miki almost made a sarcastic remark about how lazy and stupid they were for not being on guard at all times on a mission, when she remembered where they were. She dropped her bag heavily on top of Naruto.

"Wake up, dumbass." Naruto grunted as the bag landed on his stomach. He pulled it off and grimaced as he sat up.

"What was that for…?" She smirked.

"For being annoying." She left the room and headed for the door. She pulled her boots on before stomping outside. She hadn't bothered with getting new clothes the day before, simply because Nakira hadn't forced her to. Her clothes were all 'street worthy' as Nakira had put it. Not that she would have gotten new clothes anyways. She liked her clothes just fine, thank you very much.

And she wasn't the sort to change just because she didn't fit in in a place. She decided it best to explore her new surroundings properly. She heard Sasuke follow her and waited at the road for him.

XX

Sara laughed a little as she leaned on the wall just outside the kitchen as the others emerged into the living room. Naruto was blinking at the closed front door where his cousin and Sasuke had disappeared.

"They don't like staying in one place very long, do they?" She asked jokingly when the three were all in the room.

"Where's Nakira?" Kakashi asked, clearly surprised by her being alone. She shrugged.

"She's not in her room, so she's probably at Byakuya's. She almost always stays the night with him when she has a meeting."

"Okay…" She sighed.

"Okay, here are a few ground rules. I don't have school today, but I have work. If you leave the house, lock the door and plan on staying out until late this evening. I have a fourteen hour shift and Nakira will probably be out until late working. If you make a mess while here, clean it. And also, there is to be absolutely no ninjutsu." She messed with the clip holding her bangs up absently.

"You look familiar…" Kakashi said slowly. She sighed.

"Have you met the Mizukage before, Kakashi? Or at least seen pictures of her?" He nodded slightly, clearly confused by the questions. "I take after my mother in some areas." She said flatly. "You may find this surprising, but my mother is the Mizukage, and my father is the god of storms, Susano'o. Nakira's heritage is more notable though."

She paused, looking at their expressions. They were all surprised by her statements enough that it would probably send them into complete shock when she finished what she was saying. "Her mother and father are the Greek god and goddess of the Underworld, Hades and Persephone." True enough, they were completely in shock with that.

"I don't usually leave this early, but I'm covering a shift so someone can leave early." She started for the door. "Remember what I said." She put her shoes on and left without another word.

XX

Sara was perfectly content with the world as she sat in the café where she worked. She'd gotten out of her classes early and she was with Itachi. It made her a little nervous, having him in Karakura like this, but she didn't think that Renji would come into the bookstore or even be gone from Soul Society. He hadn't gone to classes that day, so she figured he was busy with paperwork or something.

Itachi smiled a little at her and she blushed. If she worried about Renji catching them together, he definitely would catch them.

"How are things in the Akatsuki?"

"Could be worse." He said with a shrug. "We got word that the team Miki was assigned to disappeared while on a mission." It had been only four days since they'd showed up and the Akatsuki had already gotten word that they were missing? What an information network. Wait a second. Miki?

She almost choked on the bite of pretzel she'd just put in her mouth. "Sara? Are you okay?" She nodded, getting it down safely.

"I'm fine…Miki, you said?" She paused. "Spikey red hair, bad attitude?"

"Yes…why?"

"Because I know where she disappeared to…sort of. She's not at the house in long enough intervals to really say where she is exactly." He blinked in surprise.

"They showed up…here?" She nodded.

"Yep." The doors opened to the bookstore and Sara blinked in surprise at the pair she saw coming in. The building was rather empty because of the fact that it was a school day and most people were doing other things.

"Not at all. Hidan's always like that. He's a great punching bag, because he just keeps coming back for more, masochistic bastard." Miki laughed slightly as she and Sasuke came in.

"…Does he not get injured or anything?"

"He does. But he's got some weird Kekkei Genkai that makes him pretty much immortal. Once, Deidara blew him to pieces and he just kept complaining that it hurt and how long it would take for Kakuzu to put him back together." Itachi blinked in shock, spotting them as well.

"No comment." Sasuke shook his head and blinked in surprised. He'd spotted them.

"What's up…?" Miki followed his look and frowned, narrowing her eyes. "What's he doing here?"

"Sara…I think we should leave." Itachi muttered, starting to stand. She nodded a little and started getting her leftovers together. Sasuke started towards the café, clearly pissed.

"Shit." Miki grabbed Sasuke's hand and dragged him further into the store.

"Hm…Yes, I think you're right." She got up and grabbed her food. She and Itachi then left the bookstore.

XX

"Sasuke. You have to think about stuff before you just charge in." Miki sighed. She'd dragged Sasuke to a semi-secluded row of books with a sign over them reading romance. She ignored that and watched Sasuke.

"What's there to think about?" He snapped. She frowned, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"This is a public place. If you just charge at someone without warning, bad things could happen. I'm not saying that you shouldn't want to kill him after everything he's done, but there's a time and a place for everything." He blinked in surprise. "Please, don't do anything stupid." She sighed.

Then she spotted something on the shelf behind Sasuke. Was that…one of those 'Icha-Icha' books? "What the hell…?" She grabbed the book and stared at the cover. It definitely was one of them. 'Icha-Icha Paradise'. Sasuke frowned, looking at the book as well.

"What on earth?"

"What kind of idiot would want to actually write this…?" She opened the book and flipped through it. She frowned deeply. One page she happened to stop on was a very detailed sex scene. "No wonder Kakashi's so into these…" Sasuke looked at the page and his nose started to bleed.

Really? That was so cliché. She sighed and put the book down. "Oy." She pulled a handkerchief out of a pocket and started wiping his face with it. She shook her head a little. "You okay?" He nodded.

"Yea…"

%%%

I can't help but worry that my point of views aren't very accurate sometimes…please let me know my faithful readers!


	5. Couples

**5- Couples**

Warning! There is sexual content! The only scene we've written in this story so far, so cherish it.

%%%

A hotel wasn't exactly the most romantic place in the world, but this one had a romantic suite with the works—candles, rose petals all over everything but the floor and bed, sweet smelling soap in the bathroom, and even lube tucked away in the bedside table. The thought of what she'd be doing in that suite had Sara smiling like an idiot as she tugged Itachi up the stairs—the elevator was broken, so they had no choice.

"Sara…what's wrong with your house?" He asked as they finally reached the floor they needed. She had to come up with something to get him to not worry about it.

"Sasuke and Miki and their group could show up and interrupt. And then there's…" She paused, trying to avoid mentioning Renji by name. "Nakira's got Shinigami who show up at random looking for her—since she's a Vice-Captain and pretty important."

"Ah…" It didn't seem like he suspected anything. Maybe she shouldn't have risked this…no, it was too late to worry about it. There was no way in hell that Renji would catch them. She got to the room and opened the door, pulling Itachi inside. He shut the door once he was fully inside the room and she smirked.

Sara kissed him deeply and he quickly dominated her, pushing her against the wall. Her arms snaked around him, one hand resting on the back of his head and trying to pull his hair down. Itachi apparently wasn't having that, as he pinned her arms to her sides and trailed kisses along her chin to her ear. She shivered a little.

"Itachi…" She breathed quietly. He bit her earlobe lightly and a moan came from her throat. He slowly trailed kisses down her throat, pausing to suckle gently at her pulse. She shuddered and groaned. "Oh…" Her head tipped back.

He smirked against her skin and moved on, kissing along her collarbone and then using his teeth to untie her loose dress. The garment fell to the floor, pooling around her feet. He finally released her hands and kissed every inch of exposed skin above her breasts.

She reached back to unclasp her bra and dropped the garment to the floor before putting a hand on Itachi's shoulder. "Think we can take this to the bed?" Her voice was rough. He nodded and claimed her mouth with a deep kiss as he lifted her into his arms and carried her to the king sized bed further into the room.

He set her on the bed and ran his tongue across her lower lip, ghosting his hands down her sides to rest on her panties. She opened her mouth for him and tried disrobing him without breaking their kiss. He broke away long enough to yank his shirt off. His tongue slid into her still open mouth and started exploring that warm, wet cavern.

Sara moaned into the kiss and tried to push her tongue past his. He dominated her again, pushing her down against the bed. "I love you…" She moaned into his mouth, tracing his muscles with her fingers. He broke the kiss and started trailing a burning path of kisses to her breasts.

"I love you too." He agreed as he started licking her tits. Her back arched with pleasure and her breath came in small gasps. He smiled against her skin and bit down on the nipple he was lavishing with his tongue.

"Ah—!" He suckled on her breasts alternately, shimmying her panties down her legs and running a finger through her nether lips. She gasped, writhing beneath him. He massaged her clit with his thumb while his other hand trailed to her ass. He pressed a finger into the ring of firm muscles there. "Itachi…ah—!" She gasped out, her back arching again. He trailed kisses down her stomach and dipped his tongue into her bellybutton before moving on to lick her snatch.

She fisted her hands into the sheets and struggled to remain flat on the bed while she gasped for air. He pushed his tongue inside her, clearly trying to taste as much of her as he could. She moaned and her hips lifted off the bed a little. God, it felt so good. He just knew every way to make her melt.

He stopped licking just before she reached her orgasm and stood, leaning over to kiss her deeply while he got out of his pants. She groaned, tasting herself on him and loving it. She panted, breaking the kiss a little. "Please…put it inside…I can't bear it anymore…" He nodded a little and thrust into her, quickly setting a steady pace. Her arms flew around his neck and she moaned and gasped out his name.

He continued thrusting in and out of her. She knew when he was about to climax, as his pace started to become erratic. He gasped.

"I'm going to…"

"Not inside…today's not safe…" She managed to gasp out. She was about to climax as well and it was hard for her to process a few important things. He nodded and after a moment, pulled out and ejaculated all over her stomach. She pulled herself up and kissed him deeply. He deepened the kiss and held her close for a few minutes. Finally, she pulled away and stood. "I'm going to take a shower…"

"Okay. I'll be right here." She smiled a little as he crossed his legs to wait for her. She then went to the bathroom, knowing that he wouldn't be on that bed for very long. Sure enough, shortly after she started the water, she heard him step into the bathroom and felt him watching her. She smiled a little and started humming lightly as she started lathering soap all over her body.

She gasped in surprise when Itachi stepped in behind her and reached around to massage the soap into her breasts. She leaned against him, letting her head lay back on his shoulder. It soon became hard to breathe again. To her dismay, he started massaging soap into every inch of her skin—including her crotch—expertly hitting every spot on her body that would send her crashing over the edge. She began shuddering against him and moaning in muted agony and pleasure. He rinsed the soap off of her body and pulled the removable showerhead down, angling it so the spray of warm water went directly into her pussy.

She gasped and reached behind her, searching for his cock. He pushed her hand away and put the showerhead back into place. She moaned in protest at his rejection, unable to form coherent speech at the moment. He smirked and kissed her gently before pushing her against the shower wall and pressing a finger into her asshole. She shuddered and would have collapsed as her knees went weak from pleasure if he hadn't held her up with his free hand. He pushed in a second finger and she regretted saving her ass for him. He started scissoring her ass open and she winced a little. She hadn't taken _anything_ up her ass in such a long time that she could already tell that it would hurt when he got his cock inside.

"Oh gods…Itachi…" She breathed. He pushed a third finger into her ass and stretched the muscles painfully wide. Her fingers scraped against the tile wall as she clutched at it, but there was nothing to hold onto. She nearly screamed when she felt him push his prick into her. She bit her lip and glanced back to see him wincing as her muscles clamped down on his intruding cock.

"Were you saving your ass for me?" She nodded weakly, trying to relax. He smiled a little and started massaging the cleft of her ass in an attempt to relax her muscles. She felt them loosen up and he started moving. He put his arms around her and pulled her flush against her, getting his cock deeper inside her. She gasped and let her head loll back onto his shoulder.

He turned his head and kissed her deeply, massaging her breasts with one hand and rubbing her dripping slit with the other. She opened her mouth for him, deepening the kiss as she moaned and gasped. It wasn't long before he broke the kiss and crashed over the edge, spilling inside her ass. She joined him almost immediately in climax and gasped his name.

XX

Nakira smiled lightly as she sat close to Byakuya during French. It was a normal day, but she was just happy to be with Byakuya—especially with things calming down at the house.

"Aujourd'hui, nous allons pratiquer le dialogue dans les paires. Vous pouvez improviser, aussi longtemps que vous ne parlez que français*." The instructor said lightly. Lovely. Nakira sighed and waited for the rest of the class to finish their practices.

"Fun…" She muttered while she waited. Everyone knew she wouldn't do any sort of in-class activities without Byakuya, and the same went for him. She was the only reason he even _left_ Soul Society, much less attended classes. The class time was almost over when the instructor waved them to the front. She sighed and went up to the front. Byakuya followed her and she noticed a small smile on his face.

What was he up to…? She turned and faced him. "Quelle heure est à la réunion**?" She asked, ready to get the two minutes worth of dialogue out of the way and move on with her day. Byakuya smirked.

"A cinq heures du soir***."

"Ensuite, nous passerons à diner avant ou après+?"

"Avant. Bien que j'ai une question à vous poser++." She frowned at that. What was he talking about…?

"Oui…demandez loin+++." He got on one knee and Nakira's heart stopped. Was he seriously about to propose to her…?

"Veux tu m'épouser^?" She blinked in surprise. He really just…he had to be joking.

"Q-Qu'est-ce^^?"

"Veux tu m'épouser?" He repeated. She paused, still not sure if he was being serious.

"Etes-vous…sérieux^^^?" She finally asked. He nodded once, his expression so serious that she honestly had to believe him.

"Oui." She glanced at the rest of the class and blushed. He was really proposing to her in the middle of French! Of all the things he could come up with…!

"Alors…oui…oui#!" He took her hands, smiling. They both looked at the instructor. She waved a hand and turned to the window, clearly planning to ignore them. Byakuya sighed and kissed her.

"Merci." A collective 'ah' sounded from the class and she returned the kiss momentarily before pulling away and frantically trying to keep from looking at their audience.

"La classe est finie. Allez sur votre entreprise##." The instructor said dismissively and Nakira grabbed her bag, prepared to flee from the room. Byakuya did the same and caught her hand before she could escape.

"I have a ring for you in my bag." He said when they were in the hall and on their way to the Student Center.

"Okay…" She paused. "Why'd you do that in front of the class like that? I seriously thought you were joking at first!"

"I wanted to surprise you. Since it's so difficult to surprise you, I think I did good." She rolled her eyes.

"Just wait until my parents hear about this…" He suddenly seemed nervous.

"…Should I have tried to find a way to contact your father…?"

"No…" She paused, thinking about how her father was sometimes. "Well, I'm sure he would have _liked_ it if you asked him…you know for propriety's sake and to give him some warning…but they'll both be happy. Mom's been making bets with Aphrodite as to how long it'd take you to propose…" And it was true. Her father had told her just that the previous month with a look of pure shock on his face because his wife very rarely spoke to the goddess of love, much less made bets with her.

Byakuya stared at her in surprise at that. "I know…" She sighed. "I'm just not looking forward to their reactions…I can never tell what to expect with my parents…" And then there was the fact that they'd be worried about her shirking her duties.

"Right…" She sighed again and they walked into the Student Center together. They went straight for the usual table. Sara seemed content, leaning against Renji as though she hadn't been with Itachi just days before.

"Hey you two. How was French?" She blushed brightly and sat down.

"Just fine…"

"Really?" Renji asked, grinning as though he _knew_ what had happened.

"Really." Byakuya answered sitting down beside Nakira.

"Okay then…"

%%%

Ack…a lot of French there…but I've provided translations so you can understand the conversation. Anyways, look forward to the next chapter and be warned. This is almost caught up with what we have written…so after the next chapter or so updates will be a lot slower on this.

%%%

* Today, we'll be practicing dialogue in pairs. You may improvise, so long as you only speak French.

** What time is the meeting?

*** At five in the afternoon.

+ Then we'll go to dinner before, or after?

++ Before. Though I have a question to ask you.

+++Okay…ask away.

^Will you marry me?

^^What?

^^^ Are you…serious?

#Then…yes…yes!

##Class is over. Go about your business.


	6. Questions

**6- Questions**

So there's more drama and some pairing off coming up. I know, the story's moving really fast in places, but that's how we wrote it in the first place…

%%%

Miki sighed tiredly, sitting in a tree with a sandwich. Her mind was on several different things. Though she was painfully aware when Sasuke joined her in the tree and sat on a nearby branch.

"You okay?" She nodded a little.

"Yea…I'm fine. Just thinking."

"About what?" She glanced at him.

"The fact that…well, you remember the other day when we saw Itachi at that bookstore with Sara?" He nodded. "How did he get back? Hell, how did he get to that bookstore in the first place?" She sighed tiredly. "It's so screwed up here…it's not natural…"

"Maybe if we asked Sara…? She apparently goes back and forth a lot…" She scoffed.

"Oh yea, and how would that turn out? Just waltz right up to her and ask her? She's not one much on the friendly side…"

"Right…" He sighed. She glanced at him again and swallowed a little.

"Hey Sasuke…it's been bugging me. What do you think about me?"

"…What kind of question is that?" He looked totally confused and she sighed. He was absolutely clueless sometimes…just like a guy.

"Just answer it…" She watched him carefully.

"Well…" He blushed a little. "I like you…" She cocked an eyebrow.

"As just a friend?" He nodded immediately and her face fell. That was a real let down. It was just her then.

"Well, yea. I mean, we grew up together…and…" He trailed off.

"Right…"

"Miki…?"

"You're…sure?" She asked hopefully. Maybe he liked her as more than a friend and was just saying that to keep their friendship intact. He nodded and her hopes shattered. "Okay." She jumped out of the tree and ran around the corner, tears threatening to start falling. She was stupid for even hoping he had any feelings for her.

XX

Sasuke jumped out of the tree and tried to follow her, to find out what was wrong with her all of a sudden, but she was already out of sight and he couldn't find any evidence of which way she went.

"Shit…" He groaned. He got the feeling he really just screwed up.

"She'll be back." Nakira's voice sounded behind him. "I think she was hoping for a different answer to her question." He jumped in surprise at her sudden appearance and turned to face her. She laughed a little. "Sorry."

She put her hands in hidden pockets in her dress. "And…just so you know, the only reason Sara is able to go back and forth is because she's 'a child of both worlds'. And as far as your brother is concerned…Sara brought him to and from." She sighed. "Though I'm surprised she risked bringing him here to Karakura Town…since there'd be too much risk of Renji seeing them together…" He frowned.

"Who?"

"Byakuya's vice-captain. Sara's been dating him for six years." That didn't make sense.

"But…why was she at the bookstore with Itachi then? If she's with someone else…" He tried to rationalize it and the only conclusion he could come to was that Sara was a two-timer.

"She's been dating Itachi for three years." She sighed. "Yes, my roommate is a two-timer." She confirmed. He was speechless. Sara seemed at least intelligent enough not to string people along and lie like that. "It's going to bite her in the ass eventually." Nakira turned and started for her house. "There's no point in hanging around here when…" Her cell phone went off and she frowned at it.

XX

Why was Ichigo calling her from the clinic? Nakira answered her phone with a deep frown. Unless it was Isshin calling, but he would have no reason to call her, she thought.

"Taisho speaking."

"Nakira, get to the clinic _now_." She felt her eyes go wide. His tone said that something really bad happened. And the only reason he'd have for calling _her_ with that tone…something happened to Byakuya!

"Ichigo? What happened?" She changed her direction and ran towards the clinic.

"Not a clue. Renji, Byakuya, and Sara just dragged themselves in and collapsed, bleeding." Now she was panicking. She rounded a corner.

"Who's bleeding?"

"All three of them!" She grimaced and started looking around for other people.

"Shit. Give me ten seconds." She hung up and double checked for witnesses. Satisfied that no one was around, she shifted into her Shinigami form and flash stepped to the clinic, shifting back to her mortal form as she stepped onto the front porch. She didn't even have to knock on the door before Ichigo opened it.

"Come on." She nodded once and dashed inside, running to the actual clinic area. She saw the three of them laid out on beds and the rest of the Kurosaki family were dashing about like chickens with their heads cut off, treating their wounds. She watched with wide eyes.

"W-What happened…?" Karin shook her head a little and tossed a roll of bandages to Isshin.

"Give us a sec…" She noticed the enormous gash on Byakuya's abdomen as Isshin caught the bandages and started applying them to the wound. She blinked back tears.

"What happened to them?"

"Ki…I don't think it's a good idea to freak out…" Ichigo sighed. She clenched her hands into fists.

"All we know at the moment is that they're injured." Isshin sighed, finishing up. "If I had to guess…I'd say they were attacked by some sort of assassin." Ichigo stared in shock at Isshin. His words only had Nakira worrying even more.

"T-That's impossible…who would want to kill any of those three…?" She said that, though she had an idea of who _may_ have a vendetta against two of them. But that would only be plausible if Itachi had discovered that his girlfriend had been two-timing him. There was the possibility that whoever had attacked them was after Sara and the two Shinigami had been in the wrong place at the wrong time, but the only reason Sara would be a target would be because of her mother being an important figure in the _ninja_ world.

"Uh…Dad…am I the only one noticing that these two guys aren't breathing…?" Karin asked slowly. Nakira let out a squeak of dismay, about to start panicking anew. But she calmed down when she remembered that Renji and Byakuya were both using _Gigai_. Isshin obviously realized the same thing, because he quickly dismissed his daughter's worry.

"Girls, I can take care of these three from here. You go get cleaned up." Karin frowned and folded her arms over her chest.

"No." Yuzu sighed and left the room, dragging her twin sister with her. Ichigo looked expectantly at his father when the girls were gone.

"Vice-Captain Taisho?" Nakira grimaced.

"Don't do that so randomly, Kurosaki. It doesn't help my nerves."

"Uh…I'm missing something here…" Ichigo started. Nakira scoffed.

"Kurosaki, I'm surprised at you. I'd assumed you'd at least informed Ichigo…_Captain_." He groaned.

"Seriously…don't call me that." He sighed. "I'll explain later, Ichigo."

"Uh…no. You're gonna explain it _now_."

"I used to be a Shinigami." He said flatly. "Nakira?" She sighed tiredly.

"I'll notify Kurotsuchi about the damaged Gigai…and I'll also expel them from them." She crossed the room and concentrated a moment. She felt the warmth of her spell as the two Gigai were sent back to the Division Twelve labs and the two Shinigami expelled from them.

"Uh…what just happened?" Ichigo asked when she turned.

"You've really let yourself get lax on your Kido, Kurosaki." She complained before leaving the room. She turned back. "Sara'll be fine too. She's a fast healer as it is." She went into the living room and smiled at Byakuya, who was clearly waiting for her.

"What did you do?" She smirked.

"Isn't it obvious? What the hell happened to you guys?"

"Someone attacked us from behind while we were walking to your house. We barely managed to get here."

"Great…of all the things that could happen…" She sighed. It was going to be a long afternoon. "And this means that I'll have a shit load of paperwork coming in and yet another report to file concerning strange events…" And more papers to review after she finished those because of the fact that she'll have a mass in-flow from the First Division office because of this.

"You won't be the only one with paperwork to deal with…" He sighed. "May as well go get it taken care of…?" She nodded.

"Right. And there's no time like the present." She smiled a little and shifted to her Shinigami form. Byakuya smiled and produced a knife from his coat, opening the gate and stepping in. She went with him, catching his hand and not looking forward to having to go through three positions' worth of paperwork.

XX

Miki sighed as she returned to the house late. Sasuke greeted her, looking worried.

"Where have you been?" She laughed a little at his expression.

"I needed some time to think. Who else is here?" She listened for signs of the three stooges.

"Just me…Sakura and Naruto left to get something to eat and Kakashi went with them to supervise. If I had to guess, Nakira is off doing something for her job or something like that. She dashed off without saying much. And I have no idea about Sara." She nodded slowly.

"Okay then…I guess it's just the two of us then…"  
>"Yea…" He paused. "Look…about earlier…" She forced herself to smile.<p>

"Don't worry about it. I should have figured that would be your answer." His expression made her think that her smile wasn't quite believable. "That's all we need to be anyways, friends." Though it hurt her to say that. What was wrong with her? It was better if they were just friends. No romance gumming up the works and making things difficult or complicated.

"Miki…" He sighed. She blinked at him.

"What?" He didn't answer for a second. Then, abruptly, he pinned her to the closed door and kissed her. Her eyes went wide with shock. He backed up after a long beat.

"Sorry…" She blinked, her hand automatically rearing up to smack him. He flinched. "Sorry!" She stopped herself from hitting him.

"W-Why…?" She asked, the shock of that kiss still wearing off.

"What do you mean?"

"Why did you just…k-kiss me…?" It was her first kiss too. She figured her face was about the same color as her hair and she couldn't look him in the eye.

"Well…" He took a deep breath as though stealing himself for something. "I got to thinking earlier. Before, I'd just said what came to mind first…but when I thought about it after you left, well…" He blushed. Miki's poised hand shot towards him, going straight for his collar.

Sasuke jolted and tried to dodge, probably anticipating getting strangled or worse. She caught him and spun around to pin him to the wall.

"I don't like being cornered like that." She growled. He gasped in surprise and she figured that her expression was probably somewhere in the range of 'pissed off feral cat'.

"M-Miki…?"

"You're really an idiot…" She purred, leaning in to lock her lips to his.

XX

Sasuke stared at her in shock. He couldn't move. After a long moment, Miki pulled back enough to speak.

"I'll ask the question again. And I want you to think about it before you blurt out an answer this time." He nodded a little, shocked silent. He hadn't expected that. "What do you think about me?" He waited a moment. He didn't really need to think about it—he'd been thinking about it all day—but he got the feeling that Miki would hurt him or do something obscene to him. But then again, with Miki, he'd figured out a long time ago not to make any expectations of her. It was the same of her cousin. That fact made him want to kick himself for trying to plan out this encounter with her. She seemed to be waiting patiently, but she still had him pinned to the wall so she could be as patient as she wanted…he bit his lower lip a little.

"I like you." She lifted an eyebrow, obviously expecting an elaboration. He closed his eyes tightly, not wanting to see her reaction. "In the way that…I want to kiss you again…properly." He whispered. Instead of hitting him or any of the other options normal to Miki's personality that he anticipated her reaction being, she only laughed and stepped back, releasing him.

"Really now?" He nodded, keeping his eyes closed. His eyes snapped opened when he heard what sounded like fabric shifting and something being untied. He stared at Miki, who was steadily pulling her white outer top over her head to reveal her black bra and the short cut mesh top underneath.

"M-Miki…what are you doing…?"

"I'm getting comfortable." She said with a smirk. "I can't do that?" He paled.

"N-Not in front of me…!" He closed his eyes again and covered his face in an attempt to hide the blush he felt creeping onto his cheeks. She laughed and pulled his hand away from his face.

"You're a dork, you know that?" He opened his eyes a crack. Something was seriously wrong with her.

"Who are you calling a dork?" She kissed him lightly.

"There's no one else here." He swallowed a little, trying to think of an escape route.

"Are you feeling okay?" She nodded and that scared him.

"I'm perfectly fine."

"Then why are you suddenly acting like this?" It wasn't normal. This Miki scared him. The normal Miki, he was perfectly comfortable with and loved, but not this version. Had she eaten something bad…?

"Well…I want you to know how I feel about you." What on earth did she mean by that? Had she been reading Kakashi's perv books?

"And…?" She shook her head a little and kissed him again. He pushed her away after a moment. "Miki…we can't do this…what if someone comes back and sees us…?" Please let her back off with that. She frowned a little, but nodded.

"You're right…" The door opened suddenly and pushed them both back.

"I'm home~!" Sara shouted into the house.

"S-Sara?" Miki gasped. Sasuke was very glad he hadn't let Miki get any further. It would have been very embarrassing to be caught by anyone, but worse if it was _S__ara_. Sara nodded a little, examining them.

"What were you two doing…?" She asked lightly, clearly taking in the fact that Miki was still partially disrobed.

"N-Nothing…" Behind Sara, someone cleared their throat and Sasuke looked around her to see Itachi.

%%%

Okay…this is officially the last chapter for a while. We haven't gotten enough written for another chapter yet. Sorry about the cliffhanger too…


	7. NOTICE

Moving to DeviantArt~! Preexisting posts here will remain, but anything new will be found at .com

Stories with mature content (Pretty much all of them) will require a DeviantArt account to view so I can keep maturity filters correct. Go watch me there and keep an eye out~!

I'm doing this to satisfy my own beliefs as there is no mature content filter on . My preexisting stories will also be available in edited versions on DeviantArt, so feel free to read those and tell me what you think.


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